1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to exercise devices, specifically to such a device which can motivate and educate by allowing the user to interact mentally as well as physically with audiovisual information controlled by specific programs related to the device.
2. Description of Related Art
Exercise equipment of various types are well known in the art. In order for exercise to be effective it must be maintained for at least 15 minutes and must be performed regularly. One way to maintain motivation is to combine fitness equipment, such as an exercise bicycle, treadmill, or rowing equipment, with a video display thus making the exercising more interesting. Recently the use of computers in conjunction with exercise equipment has been explored. In spite of numerous earlier patents and applications, such products are still not available in sports, fitness, or computer shops. Neither are they being advertised in trade magazines. Past patents have not satisfied the requirements of the typical exerciser and indeed have misplaced emphasis on video games and thus have not met the needs of adults, the overwhelming number of users. Solutions of the following types have been presented in earlier patents.
Perhaps the simplest of these solutions is that of U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,893 to Holmes in which an exercise bicycle is used to generate electricity to power a television set. While it is simple it is not very interactive or interesting.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,897 to Melton et al., a circuit allows the play of a video game if the user maintains a predetermined level of physical effort. This is a complex dedicated system that is not easily used in a home setting.
A computer can provide a number of functions in relation to the exercise equipment. In one system, U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,555 to Hood et al., a computer is used to gather data about multiple users of the equipment, and displays them on a screen in a competitive fashion. This complex system is suited only for use in a health club environment. Computers have been used to form a program of exercise and thus control the speed, effort required during exercise and other fitness related parameters as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,408,613 to Relyea. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,104 to Andrus et al., a physical exercise machine is connected to a video system through the use of a computer and the resultant effect is used to control the load resistance imposed in opposition to the movement of the pedals while optionally participating in a video game. These are all complex systems that are not easily configured for economical home use. They suffer from a lack of diversity in their interactivity and thus rapidly loose their motivating quality.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,084 to Dalebout et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,266 to Sweeney, Sr et al., use electronic icons which represent the user in a progress display and thus the user is supposed to be motivated to improve his performance by competing against a pacing icon or visualizing the progress around a track. These systems use icons to represent reality and are limited by their simplistic nature of their display.
A videotape cassette player displays a video of an outdoor exercise scene at a speed proportional to the users exercising speed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,095 to Lapeyre. This system lacks versatility and its interactivity is very limited.
A complex exercise apparatus suitable for muscle training is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,216 to Pitkanen. This device is expensive, bulky, and unfit for other purposes. Its use is limited because it is dependant on a dedicated hardware system.
The system shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,435 to Shatford et al., is a complex device which allows the user to play video games while exercising thus missing the most important target audience namely adults.
An interface to a game console using any kind of game software has been described. U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,567 to Phillips and U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,605 to Ritchie, describe equipment that allow playing a video game while using an the exercise bicycle as long as the bicycle is being pedaled fast enough. The utility of these systems is questionable since they require the use of a specially designed bicycle or mechanical add on and are designed around playing a video game which is not a very motivating activity for most adults.
A complex computerized exercise machine is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5.067,710 to Watterson et al., in which the resistance to exercise is controlled to maintain a target heart rate. This system while therapeutic does little to add to the motivation of the user.
Another very complex system has been used in a virtual reality setting, displaying the user superimposed over a computer generated image as in, U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,981 to Jarvik. The motivational aspects of this design are limited by its artificial virtual reality.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,632 to Hall-Tipping discloses a combination of a video game system and an exercise device whereby the play action is controlled by reference to the exerciser's heart rate and the output level of the exercise device. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,069 to Hall-Tipping the difficulty level of the exercise is controlled in an interactive fashion.
Apparatus for connecting an exercise bicycle to a computer U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,990 to Virkkala, describes an electronic circuit for connecting an exercise bicycle to a computer allowing the user to play computer games and control the speed of a character in the game. While this apparatus solves some of the deficiencies of the other systems noted, it still falls short of the goal to promote exercise through motivation in that it is suited mainly for a limited style of game playing. The population that most need exercise are adults and most adults are not motivated by playing video games.
An interactive video and exercise apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,296 to Eckstein, in which the resistance to movement of an exercise device is varied in accordance to a scenario program being played on an interactive compact disc player. This involves a complex exercise system and while interactive, it's scenarios are limited to those specifically involving the person exercising thus they are monotonous, not educational, and lack the qualities that would keep a person exercising on a regular basis.
The video exercise control system, U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,249 to Brewer et al. is another complex and expensive system in which the user views scenes of various terrains and the exercise effort required is varied by a computer in synchronism with the terrain.
A system that interfaces a user-powered exercise machine, U.S. Pat. No. 5,478,295 to Fracchia is specifically dedicated to exercising towards a goal and progress towards this goal is the only motivating factor which detracts from its effectiveness and makes it monotonous and uninteresting.
Regardless of how well previous systems have performed in their respective intended environments, none of them is suitable if the user wishes to employ an exercise bicycle or other exercise equipment in an environment that is interactive, motivating and educational while running on an existing industry standard architecture computer. Most of these prior systems have been complicated, expensive, and not easily implemented, thus severely limiting the practicality of their use to exercise or research facilities that can afford the expense and are able to deal with their complexity. None of the past inventions focuses on the most likely users of such devices, namely adults. None of them is designed for educational uses as well. None of the aforementioned ideas is sufficiently simple and economically feasible such that they could be used on a wide scale basis or be simply adapted for use by non-technical persons on their home exercise equipment, while at the same time targeting the proper audience of users. None of the systems allows both the monitoring of exercise parameters as well as allowing the exerciser to control actual "live action" video scenes displayed on the video monitor. None of these systems allows for real time random access to the audio and or visual information.